Game-board.



W. M. 000K.

GAME BOARD.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 9, 1912. RENEWED JULY 3, 1913. 1,087,351 Patented Feb. 17, 1914.

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GAME BOARD.

APPLIOATION FILED MAR. 9, 1912. RBNEWED.JULY 3,1913. 1,087,535 1 Patented Feb. 17, 1914.

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Application filed March 9, 1912, Serial No. 682,648.

l others, may be stated as follows: In the oris a section of the UNITED STATES PATENT @FFTQE.

WILLIAM M. COOK, OF WARREN, OHIO.

GAME-BOARD,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 17, 1914. Renewed July 3, 1913. Serial No. 777,340.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, l/VILLIAM M. Coon, a citizen of the United States, residing at lVarren, in the county of Trumbull and State of'Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Game-Boards, of which the following is a specification.

- This invention relates to improvements in game-boards.

The object of my invention consists in providing a game-board for the playing of a game similar to pool or other analogous games which are'playe d with cues and balls.

The nature and characteristics of my game-board, which distinguishes it from all dinary game of pool the player aims to im- 1 pel a ball into a pocket and there are no obstructions placed at or near any pocket on the pool game-board, but in a modified game of pool playable on my game-board theref' is a ball resting on the game-board near; each pocket, the balls having designated; varying values, and a player has to cause; his ball to hit a flap with suflicient force to f cause, by a mechanical expedient, one of said designated balls to fall into its adjacent pocket.

With the above and other objects in View I my invention consists in the combination arrangement, and details of constructionf disclosed in the drawings and descripti0n,; and then more particularly pointed out in,' the appending claims. 1

In the drawings, wherein similar reference characters designate similar parts i wherevershown, Figurel isa top plan View 5 1 tion tohold the over the table 2, opposite inclined composed of a loop part 15 of my game-board, Fig. 2 is aside elevation thereof, Fig. 3 is a longitudinal SGCtlOIlZLli view showing the part on which the balls roll back to the player after they have passed through the pockets, Fig. 4 is a fragmental view of the bottom of my game-board showing in detail the means for holding the flap in operative or inoperative positions, Fig. 5 game-board taken on a line X--X of Fig. 1, Fig. 6 is a fragment-a1 sectional view of the game-board taken on line Y-Y of Fig. 1 showing a fiapin unlocked position, and Fig. 7 is a detail View 3 of the flap showing it in l-ocked'position. Referring to the drawings which are merely illustrative of my invention the game-board 1 isv preferably rectangular in;

contourand forms a convenient tray-which;

is supported on a table 2 resting on legs 3, said table being formed with an inclined lip-standing wall 8 between which and the part 7 the balls will initially be placed. At the rear of the wall 8 are-mounted upon the sides of the tray the inclosures 9, in which the players will place their score balls when the same shall have rolled down the bottom 4 of the table 2, said table having secured to the sides thereof pins 10 upon which are fulcrumed lever arms 11 formed at their outermost ends with transverse elongated recesses 12, through which project pins 13 mounted upon the sides of the tray 1, each arm 11 normally held in an inclined positray 1 against displacement and being movable to an position to become free of the pins 13.

Disposed adjacent the end of the tray opposite the part 7, and arranged in an alining series are the ball guiding and discharging members 14, each of-said which is formed of suitable metal, the middle portion being bent upon itself to form the loop part 15 and the ends being separated and arranged in parallel relation, said ends being designated 16 and serving as aiguide for a ball. It will be noticed that the members 14 are formed of convenient widths and that they are arranged in staggered relation upon the tray 1 and it will also be understood that any number of the members may be provided and that their arrangement may be changed withoutdeparting from the scope of my invention. Staples 1? are mounted upon the tray 1 and are disposed in close contiguity to the guiding ends 16 of the members 14, and in advance of each of the F staples 17 is another staple 18 so that a ball may either pass through said staples and between the guiding part of any of the members 143 or may strike against either of said last-named staples and rebound or deviate in members being 7 3 to occupy its path so as to enter one of the members 1 1 not aimed for by the player. A ball receiving opening 19 is formed in the tray 1, and adjacent to it is another opening 20 into which projects a pushbutton 21 for a purpose about to be described. The last-named openings are both surrounded by the looped portion of the member 14. The arrangement of the openings is the same in the case of all of the members 1 1.

The push-button 21 is secured by any suitable means such as screws 22 upon a flexible or spring metal fiat plate 23 secured to the bottom of the tray 1 by a bolt 241- tapped through it at one end only, whereby said plate will be free to move when pressed downwardly by the push-button 21. In advance of the openings 19 and is a flap 25 which is formed with a shank portion 26 passing through the relatively long opening 27 formed below the tray 1 with a rightangular portion consisting of a central looped part 28 and the parts 29 and 30 which serve as trunnions for the looped part 28, and said last-named parts are held in alining position and against displacement by staples 31. Normally, a ball 32 having a designated value for the player is arranged to fit over each opening 20, and to be forced upwardly by the push-button 21 whereby it may fall into the opening 19 and upon the inclined bottom 1 of the table 2, and this will take place when the flap 25 is moved to an unlocked position, said flap being normally held in locked position by the spring metal plate 23 bearing against the under side of the looped part 28 carried by said flap, and when in locked position the flap 25 will be obliquely disposed and at an acute angle with respect to the tray 1, so that by moving said flap to a substantially vertical position the loop 28 may ride clear of the plate 23 to cause said plate to engage the upper surface of said loop. It is to be noticed that the spring metal plate 23 hearing against the under side of the loop or projection 28 will cause the shank of the flap to bind against the surface 25 of the opening 27, and also that the loop 28 is disposed at an obtuse-angle with respect to the shank of the flap 25, and when said shank is hearing against the surface 25 said loop will be spaced below the bottom of the tray 1 and still hold said spring plate under tension. The flap 25 when in a locked position will incline against the surface 25 and after being struck by a ball assumes the upright position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 7. It will thus be seen that the flap 25 may bear obliquely against the surface 25 against the tension of the spring plate 23, as well as when said plate is not under tension, as shown in Fig. 6; but said flap, when said plate is not under tension, is movable so as the vertical dotted line position shown in Fig. 7, within the limits of the opening 27 between opposite edges of which it may be moved. In either case the plate 23 will when depressed, engage the loop 28 so as to first tilt said flap from oblique to vertical position, and then, after it has moved under said loop it will, on recoiling, reengage said loop to hold said flap in engage ment with the surface 25. As the plate 23 moves from its position under to that over the loop 28 the push-button 21 will move upwardly in the opening 20 with considerable force, due to the elastic tension of said plate, and as the ball 32 seats in said last-named opening it will be quickly shot upwardly, and the tray being supported in a truly horizontal plane, the ball 32 will fall through the opening 19 and upon the inclined bottom 1 formed upon the table 2. A flap 25 is disposed in each of the members 14 and is disposed substantially at a median line with respect to the parallel ends 16 of each of the members 14, and it will be under stood that the spring metal plates 23 are put under tension when the push-buttons 21 are moved downwardly in the openings 20, and will therefore, rebound when the loops 28 are released therefrom.

Th game-board will be used as follows: Only the important and essential features of the game will be described. A player takes a cue 33 in his hand, places a ball upon the tray 1, and by means of this one impels said ball forwardly. The balls seating in the openings 20 are of varying values and the player aims his one ball so as to strike one of the flaps 25 whereby one of the balls 32 may be shot so as to fall into one of the openings 20. If the ball impelled has been properly directed it will pass through the staple 18 and the staple 17 into the guide formed by end 16 of a member 14:. Flaps 25 must be held locked before the game can be played, otherwise there will be no upward movement of the push-button 21 to throw the ball 32 into an opening 19, and the player can very easily lock a flap, when a ball is not over said push-button, by forcing the narrow end of his cue over and against said push-button, and thereby causing the spring metal plate 23 to snap under the loop 28 thereby causing said loop to overlie the spring metal plate 23 and said flap to assume its normal oblique position. The one ball having passed between the guides 16, as aforesaid, will strike the flap 25 and move it forwardly to unlocked position thereby releasing the loop 28 from said spring metal plate 23, and causing said plate to rebound and in so doing to quickly move the push-button 21 upwardly into its opening 20, and a ball 32 resting on said pushbut-ton will be thrown by said push-button into and through the opening 19 and will then drop and roll upon the inclined bottom ios 4 of the table 2' so that it can be taken by the player and placed in one of the inclosures 9 formed upon the tray 1. A player having thus made a hit will lock the flap which he has unlocked. It is obvious that the ball may strike any of said staples and be caused to enter any of said guides formed upon the members 14 and either strike the flap 25 or lacking sutficient force roll back to the player.

Numerous modifications may be resorted to in practice without departing from the details of construction herein disclosed.

WVhat I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A game-board comprising a tray, means for holding said tray in an elevated position, a plurality of members, each composed of a guide for a ball merging with a relatively larger inclosure, arranged in series upon said tray, a flap disposed at a point between said inclosure and guide, said tray being formed with oppositely arranged openings surrounded by said inclosure, a push-button projecting into one of said openings upon which a ball rests, said push-buttonbeing arranged to be forced against said ball to throw it into the opening adjacent to its own, andmeans whereby the push button is actuated when the flap ishit by a ball.

2. A game board comprising a tray, balls thereon, a table for supporting said tray, ball stalls on said tray, said table having an inclined surface, a plurality of openings in said stalls, means in said stalls for project-,

ing a ball, a cue ball adapted to operate said means.

3. A game-board comprising a tray, means for holding said tray in an elevated position, a'plurality of members, each composed of a guide for a ball merging with a relatively larger inclosure, arranged in series upon said tray, a flap disposed at a point between said inclosure and guide, said tray being formed with oppositely arranged openings surrounded by said inclosures, a push-button projecting into one of said openings upon which a ball rests, said pushbutton being arranged to be forced against said ball to throw it into the opening adj acent to its own, means whereby the pushbutton is actuated when the fiap is hit by a ball, means upon said tray for'causing a ball thrown into said last-named opening to return to a player, a wall adjacent the forward end of said tray between which and said end the balls are held, and relatively small members formed at the sides of said tray for holding a number of balls.

A game-board comprising a tray, the table upon which said tray is mounted, a plurality of members arranged in series upon said tray and composed each of a guide for aball and an integral and wider loop, a flap mounted within said loop, said tray formed with oppositely arranged openings inclosed by said loop, a push-button projecting in one of said openings upon which a' downwardly actuating said last-named meansQ 5. A game-board comprising a tray, a table upon which said tray is mounted, a plurality of members arranged in series upon said tray and composed each of a guide for a ball and an integral and wider loop, a flap mounted within said loop, said tray formed with oppositely arranged open- .ings inclosed by each loop, a push-button projecting in one of said openings upon which a ball rests, means for impelling said push-button upwardly through its opening to throw the ball resting on it into its op posing opening, means for latching said .flap, said flap when released actuating said first-named means, said push-button when moved downwardly actuating said lastnamed means, and means for returning the ball thrown by a push-button to a player.

6. rgame-board comprising a tray, a table upon which said tray is mounted, a plurality of members arranged in series upon said tray and composed each of a guide for a ball and an integral and wider loo-p, a flap mounted within said loop, said tray formed with oppositely arranged openings inclosed by each loop, a push-button projecting in each of said openings upon which a ball rests, means for impelling said push-button upwardly through its openings to throw the ball resting on it into its sister opening, means for latching said flap, said flap when released actuating said firstnamed means, said push-button when moved downwardly actuating said last-named means, an inclosure for players balls upon said tray, and inclosures for the score balls of each player.

7. A game-board comprising a tray, a table upon which said tray is mounted, a plurality of members arranged in series upon said tray and composed each of a guide for a ball and an integral and wider loop, a flap mounted within said loop, said tray formed with oppositely arranged openings inclosed by each loop, a push-button. projecting in one of said openings upon which a ball rests, means for impelling said push-button upwardly through its openings to throw the ball resting on it into its sister opening, means for latching said flap, said flap when released actuating said firstnamed means, said push-button when moved downwardly actuating said last-named means, means for returning a ball thrown by a push-button to the player, an inclosure for the balls of the players, and separate inclosures for the score balls of each player.

8. A game-board comprising a tray, a table for supporting said tray, a longitudinally inclined bottom upon said table, a plurality of members arranged in series upon the tray, each of said members composed of a ball receiving and guiding part at and an integral loop, spaced-apart staples in advance of and in alinement with the guide of each member, a flap in each loop consisting of a button above the tray and a tiltable shank terminating below said tray in right-angular rotatable part, said tray formed with oppositely arranged openings surrounded by each loop, a spring metal member secured at one end to the bottom of said tray barring one of said openings, a block upon said spring metal member projecting in said. last-named opening upon which a ball rests, and an offset formed upon said rotatable part, said block arranged to depress said spring metal plate to cause it to snap under said oilset to cause said shank to bind against a surface of its opening, and said flap being movable to release said oliiset to cause said plate to rebound.

9. A game board comprising a tray, balls thereon, a table for supporting said tray, ball stalls on said tray, a plurality of openings in said stalls, means in said stalls for projecting a ball, a cue ball adapted to operate said means, said means consistlng of a spring pressed button.

10. A game board comprising a tray, balls thereon, a table for supporting said tray, ball stalls on said tray, a plurality of openings in said stalls, means in said stalls for projecting a ball, a cue ball adapted to operate said means, said means consisting of a spring pressed button, a flap by means of which said cue ball may operate said means.

11. A. game board comprising a tray, balls thereon, a table for supporting said tray, ball stalls on said tray, a plurality of openings in said stalls, means in said stalls for projecting a ball, a cue ball adapted to operate said means, said means consisting of a spring pressed button, a flap by means of which said cue ball may operate said means, and guides for directing said one ball toward said flap.

12. A device as described consisting of a tray having stalls, balls therein, openings in said stalls, means for projecting said balls and means whereby said means may be operated.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

NILLIAM M. COOK.

itnesses MARTIN LUTHER LEWIS, ALBERT C. HAMER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). C. 

